I love soup. I could eat it every day. And that's what I did for a good portion of one month. I made the usual pumpkin soup (link follows), and a curried carrot and apple soup, among others.

Curried Carrot & Apple Soup

Serves: 8
Preparation time: 1 hour

Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped (2 cups)
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 tablespoon curry powder
5 large carrots, peeled and thinly sliced (3 cups)
2 large McIntosh or other apples, peeled and coarsely chopped (3 cups), peeled and coarsely chopped (3 cups)
1 bay leaf
4-1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tablespoons low-fat plain yogurt for garnish (optional)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, dill or basil for garnish (optional)

(MY NOTES: quarter the oil, 2 stalk celery, a bit more curry powder, 2 bay leaves, no salt, no yogurt)

Preparation
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan or medium soup pot over medium heat. Stir in onion and celery; cook until the onion is softened and translucent, 8-12 minutes; do not brown.

2. Stir in curry powder, then add carrots, apples and bay leaf. Stir well over medium heat for 2 minutes, then add broth and salt. Bring the mixture to a low boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover tightly and simmer until the carrots and apples are tender, 20-25 minutes.

3. Remove the bay leaf. Using a large slotted spoon, transfer the soup solids to a food processor, adding about 1/2 cup of the broth; process to a smooth purée. Pour the purée back into the soup. Reheat and season with pepper. Serve piping hot, garnishing each serving, if you like, with a dab of yogurt and a sprinkle of fresh herbs.

(MY NOTES: No need to transfer to food processor; use immersion blender instead.)

I also made a beef stew and a peanut butter vegetable chicken soup. The latter may sound odd, but it has quickly climbed the ladder of my all-time favorite soups. And as I said, I love soup, so this is quite an achievement for said soup! For the curious, here is the recipe, which includes all my changes:

Ingredients
8 cups chicken broth
2 cups diced, cooked chicken meat
1 cup peeled and cubed potatoes
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced zucchini
1 cup spinach
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped red and yellow bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste

Directions
1.In a large stock pot, combine the broth, chicken, potatoes, and carrots. Bring the soup to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium. Cook for about 10 minutes, till vegetables are tender.
2.Add zucchini, broccoli, tomatoes, celery, onion, green pepper, and garlic. Simmer for about 8 minutes.
3.Add peanut butter, parsley, salt, and pepper; stir until peanut butter is fully blended. Simmer for 3 minutes longer. .


The only soup that I actually took a photo of was the beef stew. As I've stated before, I only started eating beef this last year, so making anything with beef is new to me. This was my first stew. I also made biscuits to go with them.

To give credit where credit is due, I found the original recipes for all the soups at the following websites:


Cream of Pumpkin Soup

(This is the only one I don't ever change, except for switching half & half for the cream; it's perfect as is.)
Slow Cooker Beef Stew

(I didn't make any changes to this, as it was, as I stated, my very first time making stew.)
Peanut Butter Vegetable Chicken Soup
(changes seen above)
Curry Carrot and Apple Soup